Commercial squids: Characterization,assessment of potential health benefits/risks and discrimination based on mineral,lipid and vitamin E concentrations

The most consumed squid species worldwide were characterized regarding their concentrations of minerals, fatty acids, cholesterol and vitamin E. Interspecific comparisons were assessed among species and geographical origin. The health benefits derived from squid consumption were assessed based on daily minerals intake and on nutritional lipid quality indexes. Squids contribute significantly to daily intake of several macro (Na, K, Mg and P) and micronutrients (Cu, Zn and Ni). Despite their low fat concentration, they are rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentanoic (EPA) acids, with highly favorable ω-3/ω-6 ratios (from 5.7 to 17.7), reducing the significance of their high cholesterol concentration (140–549 mg/100 g ww). Assessment of potential health risks based on minerals intake, non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks indicated that Loligo gahi (from Atlantic Ocean), Loligo opalescens (from Pacific Ocean) and Loligo duvaucelii (from Indic Ocean) should be eaten with moderation due to the high concentrations of Cu and/or Cd. Canonical discriminant analysis identified the major fatty acids (C14:0, C18:0, C18:1, C18:3ω-3, C20:4ω-6 and C22:5ω-6), P, K, Cu and vitamin E as chemical discriminators for the selected species. These elements and compounds exhibited the potential to prove authenticity of the commercially relevant squid species.     

Laboratory Exercises to Teach Clinically Relevant Chemistry of Antibiotics

Objectives. To design, implement, and evaluate student performance on clinically relevant chemical and spectral laboratory exercises on antibiotics.Design. In the first of 2 exercises, second-year pharmacy students enrolled in an integrated laboratory sequence course studied the aqueous stability of ß-lactam antibiotics using a spectral visual approach. In a second exercise, students studied the tendency of tetracycline, rifamycins, and fluoroquinolones to form insoluble chelate complexes (turbidity) with polyvalent metals.Assessment. On a survey to assess achievement of class learning objectives, students agreed the laboratory activities helped them better retain important information concerning antibiotic stability and interactions. A significant improvement was observed in performance on examination questions related to the laboratory topics for 2012 and 2013 students compared to 2011 students who did not complete the laboratory. A 1-year follow-up examination question administered in a separate course showed >75% of the students were able to identify rifamycins-food interactions compared with <25% of students who had not completed the laboratory exercises.Conclusion. The use of spectral visual approaches allowed students to investigate antibiotic stability and interactions, thus reinforcing the clinical relevance of medicinal chemistry. Students’ performance on questions at the 1-year follow-up suggested increased retention of the concepts learned as a result of completing the exercises.     

Structural approaches for prevention of sexually transmitted HIV in general populations: definitions and an operational approach

Introduction

Although biomedical HIV prevention efforts have seen a number of recent promising developments, behavioural interventions have often been described as failing. However, clear lessons have been identified from past efforts, including the need to address influential social, economic and legal structures; to tailor efforts to local contexts; and to address multiple influencing factors in combination. Despite these insights, there remains a pervasive strategy to try to achieve sexual behaviour change through single, decontextualized, interventions or sets of activities. With current calls for structural approaches to HIV as part of combination HIV prevention, though, there is a unique opportunity to define a structural approach to HIV prevention as one which moves beyond these past limitations and better incorporates our knowledge of the social world and the lessons from past efforts.

Discussion

A range of interlinked concepts require delineation and definition within the broad concept of a structural approach to HIV. This includes distinguishing between “structural factors,” which can be seen as any number of elements (other than knowledge) which influence risk and vulnerability, and “structural drivers,” which should be reserved for situations where an empirically established relationship to a target group is known. Operationalizing structural approaches similarly can take different paths, either working to alter structural drivers or alternatively working to build individual and community resilience to infection. A “structural diagnostic approach” is further defined as the process one undertakes to develop structural intervention strategies tailored to target groups.

Conclusions

For three decades, the HIV prevention community has struggled to reduce the spread of HIV through sexual risk behaviours with limited success, but equally with limited engagement with the lessons that have been learned about the social realities shaping patterns of sexual practices. Future HIV prevention efforts must address the multiple factors influencing risk and vulnerability, and they must do so in ways tailored to particular settings. Clarity on the concepts, terminology and approaches that can allow structural HIV prevention efforts to achieve this is therefore essential to improve the (social) science of HIV prevention.     

Primary immunodeficiencies in cytosolic pattern-recognition receptor pathways: Toward host-directed treatment strategies

In the last decade, the paradigm of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) as rare recessive familial diseases that lead to broad, severe, and early-onset immunological defects has shifted toward collectively more common, but sporadic autosomal dominantly inherited isolated defects in the immune response. Patients with PIDs constitute a formidable area of research to study the genetics and the molecular mechanisms of complex immunological pathways. A significant subset of PIDs affect the innate immune response, which is a crucial initial host defense mechanism equipped with pattern-recognition receptors. These receptors recognize pathogen- and damage-associated molecular patterns in both the extracellular and intracellular space. In this review, we will focus on primary immunodeficiencies caused by genetic defects in cytosolic pattern-recognition receptor pathways. We discuss these PIDs organized according to their mutational mechanisms and consequences for the innate host response. The advanced understanding of these pathways obtained by the study of PIDs creates the opportunity for the development of new host-directed treatment strategies.     

The Impact of Inpatient Multimodal Treatment or Family-Based Treatment on Six-Month Weight Outcomes in Youth with Anorexia Nervosa: A Naturalistic,Cross-Continental Comparison

In the USA, family-based treatment (FBT) with inpatient medical stabilization as needed is the leading evidence-based treatment for youth with anorexia nervosa (AN). In continental Europe, typically inpatient multimodal treatment targeting weight recovery followed by outpatient care (IMT) is standard care, if prior outpatient treatment was not sufficient. Our aim was to compare weekly weight gain and hospital days over six months for adolescents receiving FBT (USA) versus IMT (Germany) using naturalistic treatment data. To yield similar subgroups of youth aged 12–18 years, inclusion criteria were a percent median BMI (%mBMI) between 70–85 and the restrictive AN subtype. Weight gain and hospital days were compared, adjusted further in a multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA) for baseline group differences. Samples differed on baseline %mBMI (FBT [n = 71], 90.5 ± 12.8; IMT [n = 29], 78.3 ± 9.1, p < 0.05). In subgroups with comparable baseline %mBMI, the weekly weight gain over 6 months was similar (FBT [n = 21]: 0.35 ± 0.18 kg/week; IMT [n = 20]: 0.30 ± 0.18, p = 0.390, p = 0.166 after MLRA), but achieved fewer hospital days in FBT (FBT [n = 7]: 4 ± 6 days, IMT [n = 20]: 121 ± 42 days, p < 0.0001 before and after MLRA). FBT may be effective for a subgroup of adolescents with AN currently receiving IMT, but head-to-head studies in the same healthcare system are needed.     

细胞培养稳定同位素标记技术与肿瘤标志分子研究

以质谱为基础的定量蛋白质组学分析技术的发展,大大加快了肿瘤标志分子的研究进程。细胞培养稳定同位素标记技术,已成为目前定量蛋白质组学的主要策略之一,它将不同来源或不同状态的细胞分别培养于含轻/重型稳定同位素标记必需氨基酸的培养基中,经过若干次细胞倍增后,稳定同位素按照序列特异的方式,完全掺入到新合成的蛋白质中。通过比较标记前后同一肽段的质谱峰值变化,可以实现对蛋白质的精确定量。它具有样本需求量少、简单、直接、高效及定量准确等特点,不仅可以定性和定量地分析差异表达蛋白质,而且可以分析蛋白质翻译后修饰和蛋白质相互作用,已逐渐成为研究差异蛋白质组的重要工具之一,在肿瘤分子标志研究中发挥重要作用。     

岩斜区肿瘤的显微手术治疗

目的 探讨岩斜区肿瘤的显微手术治疗方法及其效果。方法 自2010年10月至2014年10月收治岩斜区肿瘤23例,分别采用颞下经小脑幕入路（11例）、乙状窦后经小脑幕入路（7例）和幕上幕下（颞下-乙状窦后）联合入路（5例）进行手术切除。结果 23例岩斜区肿瘤中脑膜瘤9例,神经鞘瘤12例,胆脂瘤2例。颞下经小脑幕入路11例中,肿瘤全切9例,次全切2例;乙状窦后经小脑幕入路7例均全切除;幕上幕下联合入路5例中,次全切4例,部分切除1例。23例患者随访6~36个月;术前Karnofsky功能状态评分为（83.0±7.0）分,术后1月为（75.2±9.0）分,术后6个月为（80.0±6.0）分;6例次全切除及1例部分切除患者术后1月行伽玛刀治疗,在随访时间内未见肿瘤复发。结论 根据岩斜区肿瘤的不同类型,选择颞下经小脑幕入路、乙状窦后经小脑幕入路和幕上幕下联合入路,可以提供肿瘤全切率,减少并发症,提高手术疗效。     

Approaches for Detection of Hepatitis B Virus Pre-S Gene Deletions and Pre-S Deleted Proteins and Their Application in Prediction of Higher Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development and Recurrence

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most common and lethal human cancers worldwide and is closely associated with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Pre-S deleted proteins are naturally occurring mutant forms of HBV large surface proteins that are expressed by HBV surface genes harboring deletion mutations over the pre-S gene segments. It has been well demonstrated that HBV pre-S deleted proteins function as important oncoproteins, which promote malignant phenotypes of hepatocytes through the activation of multiple oncogenic signaling pathways and result in HCC formation. The oncogenic signaling pathways activated by pre-S deleted proteins have been verified as potential therapeutic targets for the prevention of HCC development. Moreover, the presence of pre-S gene deletions and the expression of pre-S deleted proteins in the blood and liver tissues of HBV-infected patients have been evaluated as valuable biomarkers for predicting a higher risk of HCC development and recurrence after curative surgical resection. Therefore, the precise detection of pre-S gene deletions and pre-S deleted proteins holds great promise as regards identifying the patients at higher risk of HCC development and recurrence, thus aiding in more timely and better treatments to improve their survival. This review summarizes the major approaches used for the detection of pre-S gene deletions and pre-S deleted proteins, including the approaches based on Sanger DNA sequencing, pre-S gene chips, next-generation sequencing and immunohistochemistry staining, and it highlights their important applications in the prediction of higher risks of HCC development and recurrence.     

后腹腔软组织肉瘤的手术与预后影响因素的分析

目的探讨后腹腔软组织肉瘤(RSTS)的手术预后相关因素。方法回顾广西医科大学附属肿瘤医院从2002年1月至2013年10月住院的腹膜后肿瘤手术患者,应用SPSS16.0统计软件,总生存率(OS)、无病生存率(DFS)和无进展生存率(PFS),复发率(LRR)及生存率分析采用Kaplan-Meier法和Log-rank检验进行单因素分析预后分析,多因素分析采用Cox回归,P0.05为差异有统计学意义。结果完整切除术后1、3、5年LRR分别为26.7%、86.7%、100%,复发中位时间17.5月;1、3、5OS分别为100%、93.3%、40%,中位生存时间56月;1年、3年DFS 83.4%、33.4%。单因素分析肿瘤分层、大小、切缘、分化程度、AJCC分期、手术方式是患者预后的影响因素,但Cox回归分析提示:手术方式(P=0.045)与AJCC分期(P=0.05)是复发率的影响因素,是否复发(P=0.013)、手术方式(P=0.015)、切缘(P=0.049)、分化程度(P=0.002)、AJCC分期(P=0.020)是影响生存率的危险因素。结论手术方式、切缘、分化程度、AJCC分期是影响手术预后的重要因素,相关预后因素值得进一步探讨。